New Formal Ethics Opinion(s) from the Board of Professional Responsibility

There are three ways for TBALink members to get the full-text versions of these opinions from the Web:

Do a key word search in the Search Link area of TBALink. This option will allow you to view and save a plain-text version of the opinion.

Browse the Opinion List area of TBALink. This option will allow you to download the original version of the opinion.

Click the URL at end of each Opinion paragraph below. This option will allow you to download the original document.

Howard H. Vogel
Knoxville, Tennessee
Editor-in-Chief, TBALink

CLEAR FORK MINING COMPANY v. WILLIE MARLOW, et al. AND WILLIE MARLOW,
et al. v. CARL KING, et al.
Court:TCA
Attorneys:
Timothy P. Webb, Jacksboro, Tennessee, for the Appellant Willie Marlow
W. Lee Asbury, Jacksboro, Tennessee, for the Appellee Jim King
Judge: GODDARD
First Paragraph:
In the case presently on appeal Willie Marlow, et al., seek a court
determination that he is the owner of certain real estate located in
Campbell County. The Trial Court, on motion of Jim King, found the
parties had reached an agreement as to the controversy in accordance
with his insistence. The Trial Court thereupon entered a judgment in
favor of Mr. King. Mr. Marlow appeals contending enforcement of the
agreement violates the Statute of Frauds and such a resolution was
barred by the six-year Statute of Limitations. We affirm.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/clearforkmining.wpd
JEROME FELIX HAVELY v. ALMEDA MATTHEWS HAVELY
Court:TCA
Attorneys:
David W. Blankenship, Kingsport, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Almeda
Matthews Havely.
Clinton R. Anderson, Morristown, Tennessee, for the Appellee, Theresa
Waller, administratrix for the Estate of Barbara Havely.
Judge: SWINEY
First Paragraph:
In 1983, Jerome Felix Havely and Almeda Matthews Havely were divorced.
They had entered into a Property Settlement Agreement which was
incorporated into the Judgment of Divorce ("Divorce Judgment").
Neither the Divorce Judgment nor the Property Settlement Agreement
mentioned the military pension of Jerome Felix Havely ("Plaintiff").
Approximately one month after the entry of the Divorce Judgment,
Almeda Matthews Havely ("Defendant") filed a motion essentially
seeking relief under Tenn. R. Civ. P. 60.02 in which she alleged that
the Divorce Judgment should be set aside because she had not been
aware of her entitlement to Plaintiff's military pension. This motion
was dismissed in 1984 by the Trial Court for failure to prosecute.
This matter lay dormant for fourteen plus years until Defendant filed
two more Rule 60.02 motions. Defendant's third and final Rule 60.02
motion, filed in 1999, is the subject of this appeal. After three
notices of hearing were filed, the Trial Court dismissed Defendant's
motion without providing its reasons for the dismissal. Defendant
appeals. We affirm.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/havelyjeromef.wpd
IN RE: C.M. b/n/f DANIEL DORIAN McDANIEL v. RICK PHILLIPS
Court:TCA
Attorneys:
Stanley F. LaDuke, Knoxville, Tennessee, for Appellant.
Cecilia S. Petersen, Knoxville, Tennessee, for Appellees.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter, and Elizabeth C.
Driver, Assistant Attorney, General, Nashville, Tennessee, in defense
of Tenn. Code Ann. S36-3-617.
Judge: FRANKS
First Paragraph:
The Trial Court subjected defendant to a protective order pursuant to
Tenn. Code Ann. S36-3-601 et seq. Defendant claimed a portion of the
statute was unconstitutional, the Court lacked subject matter
jurisdiction, and the evidence did not establish a basis to issue the
Order. On appeal, we affirm.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/inrecm.wpd
HENRY WITT, et ux, v. TENNESSEE FARMERS MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY
Court:TCA
Attorneys:
Richard A. Fisher, Cleveland, Tennessee, for Appellants, Henry Witt
and wife, Margaret Witt.
Douglas M. Campbell, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for Appellee, Tennessee
Farmers Mutual Insurance Company.
Judge: FRANKS
First Paragraph:
The Trial Court refused to grant plaintiffs relief from a Judgment
pursuant to Tenn. R. Civ. P. 59 or 60. Defendant has appealed. We
affirm the Trial Court.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/witth.wpdSTATE OF TENNESSEE v. THOMAS DEE HUSKEY
Court:TCCA
Attorneys:
Herbert S. Moncier and Gregory P. Isaacs, Knoxville, Tennessee, for
the appellant, Thomas Dee Huskey.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Michael E. Moore,
Solicitor General; Erik W. Daab, Assistant Attorney General; Randall
E. Nichols, District Attorney General; and Jennifer Welch, Assistant
District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: TIPTON
First Paragraph:
The defendant, Thomas Dee Huskey, brings this interlocutory appeal,
contending that the double jeopardy protections of the United States
and Tennessee Constitutions bar a retrial following the jury's
deadlock on four counts of first degree murder. He argues that the
trial court failed to declare a mistrial and manifest necessity did
not compel one, that prosecutorial misconduct and judicial
overreaching precipitated the jury's inability to reach a verdict, and
that the trial court erroneously failed to accept the jury's special
verdicts. We conclude that double jeopardy does not bar a retrial.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/huskeytd524.wpd
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. HARRY M. NIMMONS
Court:TCCA
Attorneys:
David L. Hull, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Harry M.
Nimmons.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Mark A. Faulks,
Assistant Attorney General; Randall E. Nichols, District Attorney
General; Kevin James Allen, Assistant District Attorney General, for
the Appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WITT
First Paragraph:
The state appeals from the Knox County Criminal Court's dismissal of a
three-count presentment against the defendant, Harry M. Nimmons. The
trial court premised its dismissal of the presentment upon the lack of
a preliminary hearing prior to return of the presentment, although the
court found that the lack of a preliminary hearing was not
attributable to bad faith by the state. Because there was no showing
of bad faith by the state, we reverse the trial court's order and
reinstate the presentment against the defendant.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/nimmonshm.wpd
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. DONALD PAUL PRESLEY
Court:TCCA
Attorneys:
J. Thomas Marshall, Jr., Clinton, Tennessee, for the appellant, Donald
Paul Presley.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Patricia C. Kussmann,
Assistant Attorney General; James N. Ramsey, District Attorney
General; and Jan Hicks, Assistant District Attorney General, for the
appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: MCGEE OGLE
First Paragraph:
The appellant, Donald Paul Presley, pled guilty in the Anderson County
Criminal Court to voluntary manslaughter, a class C felony. Pursuant
to a plea agreement, the trial court sentenced the appellant as a
Range I standard offender to four years incarceration in the Tennessee
Department of Correction. Moreover, following a sentencing hearing,
the trial court ordered that the appellant serve his entire sentence
in confinement. The appellant now appeals the trial court's denial of
any form of alternative sentencing. Following a review of the record
and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/presleydp.wpd

PLEASE FORWARD THIS E-MAIL!
Feel free to forward this Opinion Flash on to anyone you know of with an e-mail address.

GET A FULL-TEXT COPY OF AN OPINION!
See the intrsuctions at the beginning of this edition of Opinion Flash.

JOIN TBALink!
While Opinion Flash is a free service of the Tennessee Bar Association, you must be a subscriber to TBALink, the premier Web site for Tennessee attorneys, in order to access the full-text of the opinions or enjoy many other features of TBALink. TBA members may join TBALink for just $50 per year. To join, go to: http://www.tba.org/join.html/

SUBSCRIBE TO OPINION FLASH!
Would you like to receive the TBALink Opinion Flash free each day by e-mail? Anyone, whether a TBA member or not, is welcome to subscribe ... it's free!

For the Plain Text Version:
1) Send an e-mail message to: Opinion-Flash@tba.org
2) In the SUBJECT of the message type: SUBSCRIBE
3) Leave the body of the message blank

For the HTML Text Version:
1) Send an e-mail message to: Opinion-Flash@tba.org
2) In the SUBJECT of the message type: SUBSCRIBE HTML
3) Leave the body of the message blank

UNSUBSCRIBE TO OPINION FLASH? ... SURELY NOT!

To STOP receiving TBALink Opinion-Flash:
1) Send an e-mail message to: Opinion-Flash@tba.org
2) In the SUBJECT of the message type: UNSUBSCRIBE
3) Leave the body of the message blank